Arm slings of the sort commonly used following injury or surgery must of course provide secure support and comfort to the wearer. Such slings are normally made of a fabric or other supple material, and for maximum comfort are generally provided with adjustable straps, and with padding at suitable locations.
Typically, arm slings have body portions that envelop and cradle the forearm of the wearer, leaving his hand free to protrude from the end. While this may be advantageous from the standpoint of permitting limited usage of the immobilized arm, it may also be quite undesirable, such as when the weather is cold. Frequently, the patient's hand will be at least partially covered by a plaster cast or bulky bandage, making use of a common glove or mitten difficult or impossible, and in any event rather inconvenient.
The need to protect the wearer's hand against the cold is recognized in Rubeninstein U.S. Pat. No. 2,306,715; he provides a glove, permanently or detachably secured to the body section of the sling described, for that purpose.
In Sanders U.S. Pat. No. 2,594,809 an arm sling is disclosed in which a piece of fabric is fixed to the forward edge portion of the bottom wall, for the purpose of simulating a shirt cuff and thereby concealing the identity of the sling.
Both Klausner U.S. Pat. No. 3,815,588 and Ford U.S. Pat. No. 4,214,579 disclose slings which have hand supporting portions with loops to receive the individual's fingers.
Hubbard et al disclose, in U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,301, an arm sling which utilizes a trough constructed of flexible material; the end portion can be folded inwardly to adapt the trough to forearms of different lengths.
Despite prior art activity such as the foregoing, a need remains for an effective and comfortable arm sling having means, conveniently disposed thereon, by which the hand of the patient can either be covered or exposed, as desired. For self-evident reasons, any such device must of course also be attractive and relatively inexpensive to produce.
Accordingly, it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a novel and highly comfortable arm sling having means thereon by which the patient's hand can either be exposed or covered, as desired.
It is also an object of the invention to provide such a sling which is convenient to use, of attractive appearance, and relatively facile and inexpensive to produce.
A more specific object of the invention is to provide an arm sling having the foregoing features and advantages, including a hand-receiving mitt section which can be neatly and conveniently folded out of the way when not in use.